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The Rewatchables

‘Blue Chips’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan

Tue, 25 Mar 2025

Description

The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan owe them this rewatch… WE OWE IT TO 'EM! The guys shave a few points for Western University as they revisit the 1994 sports classic ‘Blue Chips’ starring Nick Nolte, Mary McDonnell, J.T. Walsh, Shaquille O’Neal, and Penny Hardaway. Directed by William Friedkin. Watch this episode and much more on our Ringer Movies YouTube channel! Producer: Craig Horlbeck Video Producer: Jack Sanders, Chia Hao Tat Try Loom today, visit loom.com to get started. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audio
Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the Rewatchables Film Festival?

0.129 - 16.711 Unnamed Speaker

Hey, Rewatchables fans, you already knew we were coming to Boston for a sold-out show on March 27th, but what you didn't know is we're sticking around that weekend. We're going to host our first ever Rewatchables Film Festival while we're in Boston. We're screening some of our favorite movies, movies that we have done on this podcast.

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plus maybe a couple others, at the historic Coolidge Corner Theater. We're doing it all weekend from March 28th through March 30th. One of my favorite theaters in America. We might even make a few surprise appearances at a couple of these screenings. It's your chance to see some of our favorites as they were meant to be seen on... the big screen.

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Classic mob heist, Boston movies we love, Goodfellas, The Town, The Departed. Oh yeah, we're doing Heat. Again, it's going to kick off Friday, March 28th at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline. Visit theringer.com slash events for showtimes and ticket information. Hopefully, we'll see you there. The rewatchable is brought to you by the ringer podcast network.

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You can find all of our video on Spotify as video podcasts, as well as the ringer movies, YouTube channel. You can find Chris Ryan doing the watch. That's right. Some good TV lately.

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Finally uplifting adolescence.

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Yeah.

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Talk about that. Yeah.

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Um, and then white Lotus last of us is coming. A lot of good stuff. Yeah. Van higher learning, higher learning midnight boys.

83.729 - 84.21 Unnamed Speaker

Don't do it.

Chapter 2: Why is Blue Chips considered a polarizing sports movie?

1216.266 - 1242.101 Unnamed Speaker

basketball scene in this one is probably the indiana game because i find it very easy to like kind of navigate bobby hurley on the court and i feel like it that was the one where maybe it's just because i was so familiar with bobby hurley at the time really missed his game i liked his but it's like that's a good point car accident yeah his car accident's kind of underrated i think he would have been a good pro little swaggy confident right playmaker tough yeah tough

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Stealed a ball, was an all-time favorite college player.

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He coaches Arizona State now? Yeah, yeah.

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I like this game.

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1249.05 - 1254.033 Unnamed Speaker

He just directs traffic in a way where you're kind of like, oh, right, there's a pick and he's going to come over there.

1254.133 - 1254.553 Bill Simmons

Old school.

1254.573 - 1266.259 Unnamed Speaker

That stuff is good. But they don't actually even flash to the scoreboard that much. They don't. I mean, Western gets their asses kicked most games of this movie except for towards the end. Do you know what I mean? Except for that very last game.

1266.279 - 1268.34 Unnamed Speaker

I have a lot of thoughts on that basketball stuff.

1268.36 - 1274.024 Unnamed Speaker

I want to say one more thing about the basketball. Do you know what the best basketball in the movie is to me? The practices.

Chapter 3: How does the film reflect the realities of NCAA recruitment?

2618.097 - 2622.043 Unnamed Speaker

Alfre Woodard. sucking a cancer stick at one point there, CR.

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2622.164 - 2626.845 Unnamed Speaker

Maybe he has the line of the movie. When Pete's like, what's he gonna become? And she's like, a millionaire?

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2627.925 - 2635.287 Unnamed Speaker

Yeah. She wants a job and a house. Then we go see the legend in Indiana. Why are you grunting?

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2635.407 - 2639.628 Unnamed Speaker

I'm grunting because... He knows where this is going.

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2640.448 - 2649.11 Unnamed Speaker

He knows where it's going. You can't help yourself. He's grunting because it's the same feeling I just had. Just get it off your chest. Do it. First of all, the only movie he's been in...

2650.02 - 2650.3 Unnamed Speaker

Okay.

2650.36 - 2651.921 Unnamed Speaker

You know where they filmed it, though?

2653.122 - 2655.983 Craig Horlbeck

In French Lick? His house. French Lick? Okay. Nice house.

2656.003 - 2670.872 Unnamed Speaker

You know what else was filmed in that house? What? The greatest commercial of the 80s. The commercial, yeah. That was the same drive. Pete drives down the same driveway that Magic drives down in the limo for the Converse commercial, which was the day that they became friends. They became boys. I thought Larry's not terrible as an actor.

Chapter 4: What are the main themes explored in Blue Chips?

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Using brooms as fake shot blockers, man. Loved it. Always. I thought, I just thought a lot of the touches with the coach and the players was really high level.

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3821.677 - 3833.501 Unnamed Speaker

I really liked that part. It's also like, it feels very real when, I mean, obviously because they were actually playing games that they were just filming, but Patino and Knight coaching felt very real. Like it felt like they were giving like actual instructions.

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3833.581 - 3850.175 Unnamed Speaker

and the coaching stuff in the movie is actually, they didn't really lean into it that much, but the coaching stuff is actually really good because they were coaching against each other. And it was like, don't guard this guy. Don't guard that guy. And then you hear the other guy trying to adjust off of that. It was like a little deeper look into like the scheme and strategy of the game.

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3851.136 - 3856.134 Unnamed Speaker

Yeah. Uh, It was good basketball nerd kind of stuff.

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3856.234 - 3865.637 Unnamed Speaker

Even down to when Pete's like, I'll go into the Indiana locker room and give Bob Knight our game plan because it doesn't matter. I was like, fuck yeah.

3866.737 - 3871.459 Unnamed Speaker

Rick Pitino in the closing credits of this movie is Richard Pitino. I just wanted to shout that out.

3871.479 - 3877.961 Unnamed Speaker

Do you think he was thinking, maybe I'll move into acting, I'll go as Richard? Honestly, kind of awesome in this movie. Yeah.

3879.114 - 3895.883 Unnamed Speaker

I have him and Larry Bird and Bob Cousy all being awesome in a sports movie. So what's the best? There's a locker room sign and the people locker room that says what you see here, what you hear here, let it stay here when you live here. That I just want to flag for later for the one more thing. Here's my number one though.

3896.929 - 3920.394 Unnamed Speaker

I almost feel like this should be a new category because we had this last week with Nicole Kidman asking if she should study neurosurgery. Jerry's like, Nicole, we're good. Just show up and get your scenes on time and don't wear heels because you're already taller than Tom. This research, Nick Nolte wrote a 200 page novel about Pete Bell to tap into his character's psyche. It's all right, man.

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